Tuesday, December 9, 2008

Make Hay...

A mentor of mine used to say to me, "you've got to make hay...." I seemed to know what he meant, but I never really thought about the fact that he never finished the quote. The rest of the saying, I've since come to realize, is, "...while the sun is still shines.'" Well, I've not made hay of the following blog ideas and the moment is now passed. Below is a list (or random notes) of the things I intended to blog about in the past month or two.

John Milton's Birthday - 12/9

Christmas Cantata for Sunday Morning—singing is so much more immediate form of worship; it's a whole body response

Sermon Titles—I'm willing to share manuscript, outlines, etc.

Sermon Series on Deconstructing Christmas

Christmas Trees--Tammy and I have always had real ones. History of the Christmas tree is fascinating and poorly documented

A Colbert Christmas--he makes me want to smile all day

Thanksgiving at Grandma's house--good memories; my favorite holiday.

Thanksgiving is quite a deal—how awesome that we gorge ourselves as a way to express our gratitude.

Dear Alice, my good friend, if you're reading this, I'd like to apologize that I don’t remember the advice or encouragement that I shared with you about your grandson...but o so glad you benefited. We may never know, or even think our actions significant enough...

Nancy Cohick--a joyful woman struggling with cancer

Busy/hospitals—my food is to do the work of him who sent me.

New Swing set--being a kid again

Dead Squirrel Smellin' up the church

Does anyone not cry when they hear The Good Confession song on A.P.'s latest album. Its so fraught with meaning for those of us who have been raised in the tradition he speaks of. And the choir at the end is amazing.

Kierkegaard and the wisdom of my father, the mechanic.

Soccer team hitting their stride—working together, playing like they are able, reaching potential...exciting for coach...does God get excited when people do what they are capable of, hit stride?

Atheist Ads in London

I think the most thoughtful insight that I've had about this subject [demonology] came as I read the Great Divorce by C.S. Lewis, where he stated that Milton was right chapter 9. But what exactly was Milton right about?

At bed time:
Elias—we can pray that song--sing that song--for our prayer. He makes all things new.
Jonah—we should pray for Miss Lynn

Secrets of the Dead—Battle for the Bible, PBS--Wed 10/22 8:00-9:00 Fri 7; Mon 5

EXPELLED – by Ben Stine; released 10/21. Fabulous, the first popular presentation about ID that didn't make me want to pull my hair out.

The Saturday Night Live bit, deep thoughts with Jack Handy, are perfect examples of random meditations

Treasure is heart will be also, not where your heart is treasure will be.

Depaak Chopra on Jesus
PC Commercial, Not A human thinking, Not a human doing, A human being, genius...maybe his best quotable saying ever.
Listen to http://www.commonwealthclub.org/archive/06/06-11chopra-audio.html

New Christmas Music

Sound and Spirit – Yom Kippur/Jonah....

Paramore on Music Awards

Heavy Load

Angle and the Ants--great little devo. by Peter Kreeft

Older Books on Shelf

The Philosophers

We're all socialists now, comrades – all bad? British news paper headline
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/opinion/main.jhtml?xml=/opinion/2008/10/09/do0901.xml

multitasking muddling the brain
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=95524385

Fella won lottery twice as the Dow fell.
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=95545770

--War ship made from World Trade Center Steel

- these little details, shape character, they influence behavior, inform worldview...

--Children shouting hosanna to Jesus in temple area; from the mouth of babes...what a pic. I love working with kids.

--Withering of the Fig tree. You can do this too. OK. If true for disciples, is it true for us in some sense? Most of my prayers answered lately. And I continue to just ask like its no big deal--like a child.

--Many other thoughts not written down and lost...


I may have actually blogged about some of those ideas, and you might see some of them materialize in the future--the moment has not passed for all of them. This is just one big reminder to myself (and a warning to some of you) that we've no time to rest on our laurels--no matter how fine those laurels may be. There is business that can wait but shouldn't, talks that are more effective when they are timely, and opportunities that present themselves once, maybe twice, before they dissipate. There is hay to be made. I mean, we could have had a delightful hay ride by now, and there's no telling how much livestock I could have fed with those ideas (Is this a mixed metaphor or just an overextended one?). The point, my enterprising friends, is that we need to make hay... you know the rest.

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